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Access Resorts reached an agreement with Metal and Engineering Corporation for the sale of Imperial Hotel, Ethiopia. The agreement is estimated to be worth 60 million birr.

The move to sale the property has followed a liquidity crunch faced by Access following a decision by the National Bank of Ethiopia that prohibits Access from borrowing from Zemen Bank with which it is closely affiliated according to some industry observers.

Anbessa City Bus Enterprise, Ethiopia awarded the 3.16 million birr contract, to supply an automatic vehicle inspection machine to Gigar Trading and Technical Center.

The contract requires Gigar to supply, install, commission the machine as well as providing training for operators.

Anbessa is required to install the inspection machine following the directive from the Federal Transport Authority that mandates automation for all vehicle inspection sites.

It is expected that coffee exports from Ethiopia will grow by at least 7% this year according to the Ethiopian Coffee ExportersAssociation.

Coffee exports from Ethiopia are expected to add up to 150,000 metric tons in the remaining two quarters of the Ethiopian financial year said Tesfaye Kenea, Acting General Manger of ECEA.

Coffee shipments in the last two quarters totaled 60,000 tons which is 35,000 tons less than what was shipped in the same period last fiscal year he said.

The decline in exports was primarily due to the two month delay in harvest because of the long rainy season and because the price of coffee in Ethiopia did not go down in proportion to the drops seen on the international market explained Tesfaye.

Source: Bloomberg

Ethiopia is to host the all African Leather Fair 2012 according to the Ethiopian Leather Industries Association. The fair will be held at the Millennium Hall at the end of this month.

The fair aims to promote the leather and leather products sector allowing industry stakeholders to network and attract international investment to meet the national developmental goals according to Solomon Getu Chairman of the ELIA Board and Managing Director of the Crystal Tannery SC.

More than 200 domestic and international firms operating in the sector and visitors from an estimated 40 countries are expected to take part in the fair said Solomon.